Never Mock Mother Nature....

So, I realize my tone in my last entry regarding the forthcoming California Winter Storm might have come across as mildly sarcastic. I did not mean to offend anyone, most especially Mother Nature. I am well aware of her touchiness. Apparently, she was not impressed with my lack of respect for her abilities....

This is the tree removed from my neighbor's roof...

This is the plastic covering my neighbor's new skylight....

Best I can guess they must have been even less respectful of the weather goddess, otherwise it might have been our house. All jokes aside, thankfully no one was injured. When my neighbors and I spoke across the fence separating our backyards they said they thought it was an earthquake. I was actually more frightened for the three men who worked on the roof in the thick of the storm. They threw off the tree (again felt mildly like an earthquake), swept off the worst branches, and covered the hole in plastic all while ducking additional debris and pouring rain. I would have taken pictures, but was too busy waiting to dial 911 as I was certain their peril would end in tragedy. We also lost power for two separate extended periods during the day. There are similar trees and large branches down all over our neighborhood. It still amazes me that this much damage was done in what seemed to be an average thunderstorm, minus the thunder and lightning. Had this storm occurred in KY, FL, or OK no one would have even slowed down, much less commented on it. All the same, we are glad the power outages were isolated and relatively quick. We will attempt to get to the water in the next couple of days and hope that the swell damage and beach erosion are more limited than what was expected.

On a MUCH happier note, in the last two days I have received my favorite Christmas presents. For some strange reason, no one likes to shop for me.... I can't imagine why? I guess it could possibly have something to do with the fact that the things I love most are absolutely free or absolutely too expensive for ME to buy much less ask someone else for.... So in a long standing tradition of letting me pick out my own presents my dear parents and dear in laws all gave me the means to go shopping!

My in laws know I love Pottery Barn, but also know that I am unlikely to go shopping there because I can't justify the expense... So they gave me a very extravagant gift card and quickly I used it!

Here is my beautiful new duvet cover....

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I LOVE it!

My parents just went all out and gave me cold hard cash. Ever since I started this blog I have been pining for a new camera. So here is my new baby....

Prepare to see lots more pics and hopefully a great improvement in my skills as well. Note, none of these pics were taken with my new love because my 1G memory card did not arrive. Obviously, I will be taking a trip to the store today, because I cannot wait another week to start snapping!